Insects that Feed on Hemp – Leaf Chewers

Zebra Caterpillar
The zebra caterpillar (Melanchra picta) is a very
strikingly colored caterpillar, generally black
with white markings and yellow striping. Zebra
caterpillar will develop feeding on the foliage of
a wide variety of plants including many
vegetables, flowers, some field crops, and even
a few types of trees. However, it is almost
never abundant enough to cause damage to
any of these plants as a great many kinds of
natural enemies regularly will heavily impact
numbers of zebra caterpillar throughout the
growing season.
The overwintering stage is a pupa, which occurs
in the soil. The adult moths emerge in
May/June and females lay eggs in the form of
masses, often containing over 100 eggs.
Multiple egg masses are normally laid be each
moth. Upon hatch the very young caterpillars
feeding in a group producing chewing the
surface of leaves in a way that produces a
Zebra caterpillars
skeletonizing pattern. As they get older, the
caterpillars disperse throughout the plant and chewing a bit of foliage, then moving to a new
area. When full grown, they move to the soil, then create a small chamber in the soil within
which they transform to the pupal stage.
About a month later, the adult moths emerge,
mate and a second generation of eggs and
caterpillars are produced on plants. At the end
of this generation the mature larvae pupate
and remain dormant until the following season.
In hemp damage is limited to a small amount of
foliage, scattered through the planting.
Damage to hemp by zebra caterpillar can be
expected to be minimal and insignificant to
Adult of the zebra caterpillar. Photograph crop yield.
courtesy of Ken Gray Collection/Oregon State
Lepidoptera: Noctuidae
University
(Top) Egg masses of zebra caterpillar.
(Bottom) Young zebra caterpillars feeding
in a group. Both photographs are from
broccoli/cabbage plantings, which is the
normally the most common vegetable crop
colonized by zebra caterpillar in Colorado.